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February 16, 2012

Cash Payments Help Reduce HIV in Young Women in Malawi

Providing small, regular sums of money to young women in sub-Saharan countries may reduce their risks for HIV, The Guardian reports. U.S. and World Bank researchers performed a randomized controlled trial with 1,300 women ages 13 to 22 from an impoverished district in southern Malawi, where HIV is prevalent. Some of the young women in the trial were given $1 to $5 per month—with their families receiving $4 to $10 per month—while others in a control group received no money. All were then tested for HIV and herpes. Those who received money were less than half as likely to contract HIV as those who did not.

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